Fish are great on the grill but sometimes take a little special handling. Here are a few clues to making things go right: A clean cooking rack is essential. Brush grill before using, and especially after grilling when still warm, with a stiff brush to remove any build-up. Brush the grill rack before lighting the fire with a bit of corn oil to minimize sticking. An old-fashioned cake cooling rack placed flat on top of the grill will keep tender fish fillets from falling through.

Sidd Finch, the baseball player invented as an April Fool's Day joke by writer George Plimpton, has now been immortalized in a restaurant. He's landed at Oakbrook Shopping Center (708-574-7433) and has brought a few of his quirks with him. The decor features a Harvard Room (Finch is an alumnus, you know) and a Classical Music Room (in honor of Finch's playing of the french horn). The nicest spot may be the large lounge, where entertainment is often on the menu and you can grab an appetizer or two. Good choices are the nicely spiced cold roasted tenderloin of beef ($5.50)

At Chinn's 34th Street Fishery in Lisle, they don't serve flying fish. They serve fish and seafood that fly. Evidence the bills of lading that greet guests at the eatery's entry. Normally, the workaday paperwork of doing business doesn't deserve prominent display. These papers, says co-owner Stanley Chinn, are the exception. He says they assure restaurant patrons that their meal consists of the freshest fish and seafood available. "We fly our fish and seafood daily direct from the East and West Coasts," Chinn says.

While many good restaurants pepper the suburban landscape, great spots for fine dining still stand few and far between. To be sure Wheeling's Le Francais, Highland Park's Carlos Restaurant and Lockport's Tallgrass set a high standard for excellence. Nevertheless, these well-known exceptions to the rule are just that-exceptions. Recently, however, an increasing number of outposts for serious cuisine have sprung up beyond the city's limits. Libertyville's Tavern in the Town is just such a restaurant.

By News briefs and tips on this page were compiled from the Dallas Morning News, Scripps Howard News Service, Men`s Health and The New York Times | June 15, 1992

At least five people who ate mahi mahi fish at a seafood restaurant in Dallas two weeks ago have suffered unusual neurological symptoms linked to ciguatera, a poison found in fish that inhabit coral reefs. One victim apparently has recovered, but the other four still are experiencing such symptoms as extreme sensitivity to cold, hot-cold reversal (in which hot things feel cold and vice versa), itching, a pins-and-needles sensation and aches. Dr. Ellen Koerber, who is treating three of the people, said symptoms can continue for weeks or months, and some ciguatera victims never recover completely.

If you can overlook its split-personality interior, Shikago, a 3-month-old restaurant in the Loop, will feed you quite well. Indeed, the food is terrific. The look ... takes some getting used to. Sitting in the heart of the city's financial district, Shikago aims to serve the Loop's sit-down dining crowd as well as the frantic lunch-at-your-desk types. Accordingly, the front half of the restaurant's space is given over to carryout, with refrigerated display cases of ready-to-eat dishes, a reach-in cooler of packaged nibbles and a sushi-to-order station.

The greeter at the Blue Heaven led me through the open courtyard's seating area toward the enclosed dining room. The courtyard was crowded with diners. There was a wait at the bar for tables. There was a buzz. But the dining room was buzzless. Some tables were empty. Was I missing The True Blue Heaven Experience? "Well, maybe," the greeter said. "But some people don't like the `too much nature' thing--the chickens and the cats . . ." Chickens and cats? Just walking around the restaurant?

It seems appropriate, if not downright predestined, that the junior division winner in the Fish to Fight Leukemia fundraiser was the only participant out of 400 contestants in all age groups who has leukemia. Ten-year-old Michael Pukszta of Skokie took home the award for Overall Top Junior Angler at the Palm Beach tournament, held last month in Florida. Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in January 1994, Michael's win came at about the halfway mark of his required three years of treatment.

It's time to clear up a common misconception. With all the hoopla over the dolphin versus tuna controversy, some consumers may be confused about the term dolphin. When they see it listed on a restaurant menu, they immediately think of Flipper. The dolphins that have been accidentally caught in the tuna nets are mammals, like Flipper. The mammals and tuna often travel together in schools. But those dolphins are not used for food. Another fish that goes by the name dolphin fish is caught for food.